Wake Up
by Ismira Daugene
Summary: Sarah starts having dreams of being in the Labyrinth and then starts to doubt if the dream is a dream or is it reality?


**Wake Up**

**by: Ismira Daugene**

_**Labyrinth**_** (c) Hensen, Froud, and Lucas**

"Shut up already, will you?" Sarah Williams yelled at the buzzing alarm clock on her nightstand before slamming her palm down on the snooze button.

Her hand flopped back onto the bed, as she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her head in her pillow, the last vestiges of a pleasant dream fading away. "Sarah! Come on! You're going to be late!" Karen's shrill voice called from outside the bedroom.

Sarah groaned. Was it too much to ask for five more minutes? Of course it was… Grudgingly, Sarah rolled out of bed, her hair a mess of tangles that covered her face, making her look like a relative of Cousin It. Blind to her surroundings, she deftly made her way out of her bedroom and to the bathroom, slamming the door in the process. She emerged twenty minutes later wrapped in a towel, teeth brushed, and hair in a towel turban and retreated back to her room to get dressed. "Come on Sarah! You need to get going!" Karen reminded her again.

Sarah let out an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Five minutes later she was walking out the door, backpack hanging from one shoulder. Karen had been right, she was late as she walked in to her first period class five minutes after the bell. "Sorry," she mumbled as she sat down in her seat.

The teacher, a mean looking old lady who dyed her hair a slightly too vibrant shade of red to be believable, frowned at her and gave an over the glasses stare before continuing with her lecture on Shakespeare's sonnets. Sarah sat in the back, twirling her pencil and staring into space. She just wasn't in the mood to pay attention today and found that the teacher's droning voice didn't help matters. Laying her pencil down, she rested her head in her hands, closed her eyes and let her mind wander.

Beneath her eyelids she could see her friends from the Labyrinth, Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. They all seemed concerned about her, as though something was wrong. She was looking up at them like she was lying down somewhere. They were talking, but she couldn't hear them. Hoggle bent over her and made as if to brush hair away from her face.

A rough shaking made her open her eyes. She glanced over at her friend Amanda Jamison who had shaken her shoulder and who was gathering her things to leave for second period. Sarah glanced up at the clock. She hadn't really been that tired, but it seemed that she'd drifted off anyway. Widening her eyes to wake herself up a little more, Sarah packed up her things and followed Amanda out the door. "Hey, you wanna get together tonight?" Amanda asked once Sarah had caught up with her.

"Sure, what do you want to do?"

"I was thinking of some quality time with Mr. Darcy," she replied smirking.

"You got the movie?"

"Yeah, bought it last night."

"Sweet! God I love Mr. Darcy!"

"Agreed!" Amanda nodded fervently.

"Right, I'll just come home with you then and call Karen and Dad later. It's easier to get them to say yes when I'm already there," Sarah smirked.

Amanda rolled her eyes but agreed. They went their separate ways to class, only meeting again for their allotted thirty-five minute lunch period. The day seemed to pass extraordinarily slow for Sarah. Before the end of the day rolled around at three o' clock she'd used the "Pound Head Here" sign taped to the inside of her locker several times while getting her books for the next class. While it didn't help much, the resultant headache gave her an excuse to slip out of her seventh period to "go to the nurse" aka grab a Coke from the vending machine and hang out in the courtyard for the rest of class. Which is where Amanda found Sarah at three p.m. after the final bell had run. "Did you skip last period again?" she asked disapprovingly.

Sarah drained the last of soda before answering, "Nope! I spent a whole five minutes there!"

Amanda rolled her eyes and led the way to her old 1989 Ford Crown Victoria. She'd nicknamed it "Vic"… Sarah had nicknamed it "The Boat". Climbing in, Amanda started the car and exited the student parking lot. "You know, you should really get a new car," Sarah commented. "I mean, The Boat is nice and all, but I mean come on! This thing is a freakin' tank!"

"And that's why I like it!" Amanda replied defensively.

Sarah held up her hands in mock surrender, "Hey fine! Whatever floats your boat… ha ha… get it? Boat?" she giggled.

Amanda groaned, "That was so lame!"

"Yeah I know," Sarah agreed, but kept on chuckling.

It wasn't long before Amanda pulled into the driveway of her family's two-story bungalow style house. Upon entering the front door, Mrs. Jamison poked her head out of the kitchen. "Hi girls! Sarah, glad to see you again. Will you be joining us for dinner?"

Sarah loved Mrs. Jamison. The petit curly brunette woman was more motherly towards her than her own mother or Karen had ever been. "Most likely, Amanda and I are having a date with Mr. Darcy," she answered.

"Ah, I see. Rosemary chicken and garlic mashed potatoes okay with you? I've already got the chicken out to defrost."

"You know me too well Mrs. Jamison," Sarah replied smiling.

Mrs. Jamison's cooking was well known at picnics and was usually gone before first helpings were done being dished out. Sarah's mouth watered just at the thought of the juicy chicken that was to be her dinner tonight. "Okay, you two have fun and don't squee too loudly…" Mrs. Jamison waved them off before returning to the kitchen.

Sarah and Amanda smiled and continued down the hall to the staircase that led to the upper floor where Amanda's bedroom was. They stashed their backpacks in her room, grabbed _Pride & Prejudice_, and headed down the stairs to the fully furnished basement that had been turned into an entertainment room. The upstairs living room was used primarily to host guests and had no television, only a Bowes Radio and a music collection that was Mr. Jamison's pride and joy.

Amanda went to set up the movie while Sarah moved toward the landline phone installed on the wall. "Mind if I use your phone?"

"Nope, just don't go calling China."

"No problem… was gonna call Russia anyway," Sarah teased before placing her call.

The line rang a few times before Karen picked up. "Williams residence, Karen speaking."

"Hey Karen, it's Sarah. I'm just letting you know that I'm over at Amanda Jamison's house and I'll be having dinner here."

"Okay, nice of you to let me know, Sarah. Are you going to be home by nine?"

Nine o' clock was her curfew, and Sarah's father was quite strict about keeping it. "Um, I should be. I'll call to let you know differently though."

"Alright, have fun."

"Yup, bye," Sarah hung up. "That went surprisingly well."

"No big blow out?" Amanda asked sitting down on the plush sofa.

"Nope, just a 'be home by nine' thing."

"Hmm… maybe she's in a good mood?"

Sarah shrugged, sat down on the sofa and got comfortable. Amanda pressed play and the two watched as the movie opened with Elizabeth Bennet, played by Kira Knightly, walking along while reading. As requested by Mrs. Jamison, they tried to keep the squee'ing down to a minimal. However, both Amanda and Sarah agreed that Mr. Darcy's first appearance was definitely squee worthy.

About halfway through the movie, Sarah felt her eyelids droop. She loved this movie, but apparently she hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night. She decided to close her eyes for a moment and simply listen to the movie. However, five minutes after she'd closed her eyes the movie ceased to be in her consciousness and different forms were appearing. She felt as though she was lying on a plush bed with heavy blankets on top of her. A soft down-filled pillow propped her head and there was a low humming coming from near the side of the bed. Sarah opened her eyes to see she was in an opulent room. Tapestries hung from the stone walls and the wooden furniture was ornately carved so it looked like the flowers and small creatures within were alive. She turned her head to the source of the humming to see him. He was sitting in a curved back leather chair, one booted foot propped on the side of her bed. He wore a casual poet's shirt, vest, and those too-tight-oh-my-god-what-CAN'T-you-see leggings. His long angular face was turned down toward the book he was reading and his winter reminiscent white blond hair floated gently down in varying lengths just past his shoulders.

He must have noticed the difference in her breathing, because he suddenly looked up straight into her eyes. She was startled by the intensity of his crystal blue eyes. "Sarah," the word passed through his lips like velvet on the skin.

"What… how…" she stuttered trying to understand.

"Shhh, I'll explain."

Sarah closed her mouth, but couldn't stop staring at his ethereal features. "You've been in and out of consciousness for days, love. I believe this is the first time you've been lucid though. We're not quite sure what's wrong, but I have every healer in my kingdom looking into it," he reassured her.

Sarah was anything but though. Unconscious? For days? What the hell was going on? "I – What do you mean for days?" Sarah asked.

Jareth put his foot on the ground and leaned forward in his seat. "You collapsed for unknown reasons. We've been trying everything to get you back. Are you hungry? I could have something brought up here for you." Jareth got up as if to call a servant.

"Wait," Sarah said, he paused. "I have no freakin' idea what you're talking about." She sat up, despite Jareth's protestations. "I haven't been here since I was fifteen, three years ago."

Sarah tried to push herself up off the bed, but suddenly had a strong feeling of vertigo and fell backwards on to the bed again. Jareth rushed back to her side, one hand coming to rest on her arm, the other on her cheek. "You should remain lying down, love. Your very weak just now."

"What the hell is going on?" Sarah asked, her spinning head causing her to feel nauseous.

"Do you not remember? Sarah, what is the last thing you remember before waking up here just now?" Sarah clutched her head as if that would make the spinning stop. "Close your eyes, love. It'll help," he said removing his hand from her cheek and placing it over her eyes. She closed them and he removed his hand. It did help – a little. "Sarah?" he coaxed her again.

"I – I remember watching a movie with Amanda. We were watching _Pride & Prejudice_ when I fell asleep."

Sarah felt the bed sink and could feel his body heat next to her hip. Along with the fact that his hand was still resting on her arm, it made her slightly uncomfortable. "Sarah darling, do you – do you remember me? What we were doing before you collapsed?"

Sarah started to shake her head, but stopped quickly when it worsened the dizziness. "No, I don't remember being here at all. Or at least not since when I was fifteen."

She felt him stiffen and he gripped her arm slightly tighter. "Nothing? At all?"

"No…"

"Sarah, I'm going to go get Healer Mentz. I'll be right back okay? Don't try to get up."

Sarah didn't respond, only kept her eyes closed. She felt Jareth rise from the bed and heard the door open and close. She was surprised he would use the door when he always seemed to magically poof places the last time she'd seen him. At that moment, she felt a jolt, as though the whole room moved. She lay quite still for a moment then she felt it again, only this time it seemed to come from behind her and she was suddenly lying on the couch in Amanda's basement again. Her eyes popped open and she tried to relax her breathing. She looked around; the movie had finished and the credits were rolling. "You okay, Sar?" Amanda asked.

Sarah turned toward her. "What? Oh, um… yeah, fine."

"Good, cuz mom just called down. She said supper is ready," Amanda rose from the couch.

After a moment of regaining her bearings, Sarah followed her up the stairs to the smell of roasted chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. While just the smell still made her mouth water, her mind was preoccupied with the weird dream she'd just had. _It was just a dream, wasn't it?_ she asked herself. Of course! It had to be! There was simply no other explanation as to how she could have been talking with the Goblin King again, and not only that, but to have been on such friendly terms with him.

Dinner was a quiet affair on Sarah's part. Amanda and her parents talked quietly, occasionally asking Sarah a question to include her, which she would answer in the simplest terms then go back to her thoughts. The "dream" had felt so real, but that's all it was, wasn't it? A dream? Of course it was!

At half-past eight, Sarah said her goodbyes to the Jamison family, grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. It was already dark and Mr. Jamison had offered a ride home for Sarah, but she'd refused. The walk would give her more time to think. She walked slowly, her mind racing through different possibilities. Maybe Jareth had given her that dream? Maybe it was some kind of fantasy of her own that had shown up in her dreams? Maybe she had finally gone around the bend and needed to go to a psych ward? Then she stopped, what if it was all true though? What if the dream hadn't been a dream, but reality? What if this was the dream? But wouldn't she remember something then? According to Jareth, it had sounded like she and he had been together for quite some time before this "incident" had happened. And if it was true, what the hell was happening to her? Why was she here?

Sarah looked up to see she was in Willow Oaks Park where she used to play out scenes from her favorite books. She glanced at her watch, 8:47 blinked back at her. She only had thirteen minutes to get home, but at the moment she really didn't care. Instead of continuing down the street she cut into the park, seeking her favorite oak tree in the back near the swan's pond. Once there, she settled herself down under the tree's widespread limbs, resting her head against the rough bark and closing her eyes. She let her mind wander.

It had been too long since she'd called upon her friends in the Labyrinth. In fact, she'd only done it four or five times since her trip. She couldn't remember their last conversation. Perhaps if she were to call them, she could get some answers? She'd find out that Jareth was still just a baby thief and that the whole thing had just been a dream. "Sarah…" a soft voice called out to her.

Sarah furrowed her brow. Was that just her imagination? "Sarah…" the soft voice called again.

No, that was definitely a voice coming from somewhere. She strained to hear it again, but there seemed to be a murmuring coming from all around her. "Sarah!" the voice was louder and more urgent now. She opened her eyes to see worried crystal blue ones staring back down at her. She inhaled sharply and clutched the bed covers in her hands. "Good Gods woman, don't scare me like that!" Jareth cried, his hands cradled her head on each side of her face and he was kneeling on the bed next to her.

He suddenly swooped down and claimed her lips with his; kissing with such passion she couldn't help but respond a little bit. He broke away too soon for her liking, his hands still cradling her face. "Your Majesty, if you'll move aside, I'll take a look at her now," a masculine voice said from beside the bed.

Jareth's hands left her face and he moved back, but refused to get off the bed and clutched at her hand, rubbing circles into the back of it with his thumb. Sarah turned her head to see a man with blue tinged skin in long purple robes approach her from the other side of the bed. He had waist length white hair tied back with a black ribbon. His aristocratic features and long pointed ears made Sarah think he might be an elf. He moved closer to her and reached for her arm. She jerked away instinctively. He hesitated, "I promise I will not hurt you, my lady. I merely want to check your pulse," he said slowly reaching for her arm again.

Sarah allowed him to hold her arm and press two fingers to her pulse point on the inside of her wrist. He sat silently on the edge of the bed, counting in his head. After a minute he set her arm back down and laid his hand on her forehead as though to check for a temperature, but she could feel a tingling sensation emanating from his hand. She noticed he had abnormally long fingers that any pianist would envy. He sighed and turned to Jareth who was staring at him intently, like he was preparing himself for the worst. "She seems to be perfectly fine, your Majesty. However with your permission, I'd like to try a link with her," the healer asked.

Jareth looked from him to Sarah and back again before nodding, "Of course, Healer Mentz."

Sarah wasn't sure what a link was and she tensed as the elf moved closer to her, his hands moving to either side of her face like Jareth's had been when she'd awoken. Sarah's eyes widened and she clenched Jareth's hand. He held hers just as tight and whispered to her, "Shh, love. It will be over soon."

Healer Mentz's long fingered hands rested on either side of her skull, his palms flat against her temples and his fingers curling into her hair to rest against her scalp as well. His thumbs rested on her forehead. He closed his eyes and began a low chant, his voice a soothing rhythm that made Sarah's eyes drift close. She felt a deep peacefulness wash over her, and she relaxed into the bed, perfectly at ease. She could feel something brush against her consciousness, a light caress. _Let me in Sarah, I need to see inside your mind_, the healer's voice said gently.

_I don't know how_, Sarah answered.

_Just relax, and try not to push against me_, he said.

She felt a pressure and she tried not to fight it, but it was scaring her. Something was trying to enter her mind and it was her natural instinct to block them out. The pressure grew to be uncomfortable and Sarah squirmed against it. _Just let me in Sarah, let me in and the pressure will stop_.

_No! I don't like this._

_ Sarah, I have to find out what's wrong with you._

_ NO! This isn't real! You're not real! I'm dreaming!_

_ No you're not, Sarah. Now please let me in. I don't want to hurt you._

Sarah squirmed against the building pressure, her teeth gritted and her brow furrowed. All of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in her head and she let out a choked scream. Her head felt like it was spinning a million miles an hour and she was falling through time and space; she screamed again as she fell. With a jolt, she landed. Her eyes popped open to see she was sprawled out under her oak tree in Willow Oaks Park. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly with each breath she took, and her limbs were trembling.

After a minute, she took a deep breath and calmed herself. She glanced down at her watch, 9:58 it said. "Oh shit!" Sarah scrambled to her feet, grabbed her backpack and started running.

She made it home in record time by cutting through backyards and hopping fences, however it was still 10:12 by the time she opened the back door. Quietly, she shut it again and tiptoed through the kitchen to the stairs. "Sarah…" her father's voice called from the living room.

She winced and grudgingly moved toward the entryway into the living room. "Y-yes daddy?" she asked, hoping he was in a forgiving mood.

"Where were you?" Robert Williams asked simply, staring at her from his seated position in the recliner.

"I – um – I was at Amanda's."

"Yes, I called her house a little after nine. She said you'd left a half hour before."

Sarah winced again. "Um – I walked home and – uh – lost track of the time."

Her father gave her a disbelieving look. "I see… perhaps a week of being grounded will teach you to not lose the time again."

"What? Oh come on dad! I swear, I wasn't doing anything bad! I just kind of fell asleep in the park when I sat down to rest for a bit!"

"I guess you should have set an alarm on your watch then. Now go to your room."

"This isn't fair!"

"Sarah Anne, life isn't fair, now go."

Sarah turned sharply, but at that moment felt an intense wave of dizziness sweep over her. She stumbled and fell against the entryway. "Sarah? Are you okay?" her father asked.

She didn't answer, for fear of throwing up. She felt her father place a hand on her shoulder. "Sarah? Have you been drinking?"

She shook her head no. The dizziness seemed to temper out a bit. "No, I – I just don't feel good."

Despite his harsh demeanor of only a minute ago, genuine concern filled his voice now. "Come on, let's get you to bed," he said placing an arm around her shoulders to steer her up the stairs.

Once in her room he helped her to sit on her bed. "Are you going to be okay? Do you need some tea or something?" he asked.

Sarah shook her head. "No, I think I just need to sleep."

She could feel her mind pulling her towards unconsciousness; and voices were buzzing in her head. "Okay, but you call if you need something alright? Maybe you should stay home from school tomorrow?"

Sarah nodded and leaned back on her bed, her head becoming too heavy to keep upright. She felt her shoes being taken off and a blanket being placed over her. A light peck on her forehead and the sound of the door being closed followed. Sarah clenched her eyes shut, the dizziness returning and the voices becoming louder. "Not again…" she grumbled right before losing consciousness.

Sarah could feel hands on her head. Her eyes opened to see Healer Mentz still sitting rigidly, his palms still flat against her temples. She groaned as her head pounded. With a grunt, Healer Mentz let his hands fall from her head and he fell back into a slumped position, his breathing ragged, his eyes closed with dark circles underneath, sweat made his robes cling to his narrow frame. "Well?" Jareth, who was still clutching Sarah's hand asked.

Healer Mentz took a deep steadying breath before talking. When he did speak, his voice was low and worn out as though he'd just run five miles non-stop at break neck speed. "She – her mind is fighting with itself. It's trying to find the path it would have taken had she refused your offer three years ago. The Labyrinth is offering her a chance to choose which life she wants since she was underage when she decided to stay here. Now that she's of age, by consideration of her people's laws, the Labyrinth wants to make she's happy with what she's chosen and if not give her the chance to go back."

Jareth rose and started to curse in a language Sarah didn't recognize. When he was done cursing at his Labyrinth he moved back to her and grabbed her hand again. "Sarah, please tell me you remember me. Please… I don't think I could bear to lose you!" he pleaded with her.

She took in the desperation in his face and it almost pained her to shake her head no. "I – I don't remember anything. I remember defeating you and the Labyrinth and taking Toby home. Then I just went on with life, until now."

"Damnit all! Why doesn't she remember her past three years here, Mentz?" Jareth asked the healer without looking at him.

"I think the Labyrinth is trying to give her an unbiased view of what her life would have been like Aboveground. Which can only mean that she will eventually have to remember both possible realities in order to make a fair decision," Healer Mentz said. He'd moved to sit in a chair, his head resting in his hands.

"How do we make her remember her time here? The past three years? How do we do that?" Jareth asked desperately.

"I don't think we can. I think the Labyrinth is in control of things here your Majesty, and there isn't much we can do about it."

Jareth looked like he was about to fall apart. He clutched Sarah's hand tighter then all of a sudden bent his head to hers again, his mouth covering hers, kissing her like she was air and he a man drowning. He paused in his ministrations, "Sarah, please. I couldn't bear to lose you."

Warm, wet tears fell against her face and neck as he resumed kissing her. His lips meshing with her own in a way that couldn't feel any other way besides so totally and utterly right. His fingers wove their way into her hair and Sarah found her own hands were winding themselves into his messy mop of winter blond locks. His body moved onto the bed and lay beside her. He stopped kissing her and pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapped securely around her, afraid to let her go. His body shook and trembled as his fears were let out in tears, cries, and whimpers. His head was firmly nestled into her shoulder. "Don't leave me…" he whispered between sobs.

Sarah did the only thing that felt right and clutched him to her. Her arms wrapped around him as tightly as he held onto her. She suddenly felt dizzy again, and tried to fight it. She didn't want to leave Jareth, but she didn't have a choice. She was being pulled back, back into the alternate reality. "NO!" she yelled before she lost the feeling of Jareth's arms around her.

Sarah sat up in her bed, dizziness making her head spin, but she didn't care. She leapt out of the bed and dove towards her dresser mirror. "I need you Hoggle!" she cried desperately to her reflection.

She waited and waited, but nothing happened. "Hoggle! Didymus! Ludo! Please! I need you!" she yelled tears streaming down her face.

Still nothing happened. In a fit of rage, she screamed and threw her hairbrush at the mirror. It shattered, the pieces falling all over her desk and on the floor. She fell out of her chair to the carpeted floor, curling up in a ball. She didn't even notice when her father and Karen rushed into her room. Upon seeing her on the floor and the shattered mirror, Robert knelt at her side afraid that she'd been hurt. "Sarah! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked trying to check for wounds.

Sarah, however, seemed to be in a daze and did not answer, but merely continued to sob. With strength Karen didn't know he had, Robert picked his daughter up and carried her out of the room. "Where are you going?" she asked her husband as he absently mindedly slipped his loafers on.

"I'm taking her to the hospital. I don't know if she's hurt, or what's wrong with her, but something is definitely wrong. Stay with Toby, I'll call when I can."

Karen nodded and watched as Robert carried Sarah out to the car and pulled out of the driveway, racing towards the hospital.

**o O o O o O o**

When next Sarah woke, she realized she was lying in a narrow bed on stiff white sheets. She could hear a steady beeping noise coming from a monitor near the bed and could feel an IV that had been stuck in the back of her hand. She was wearing a hospital gown that felt rough against her skin, as though it had been starched one too many times.

She looked over to find her father snoring softly in a chair. Then all of a sudden it all came crashing back to her, both realities at once. The three years she'd spent with Jareth in the Underground had started when she'd made it to the center of the Labyrinth. Jareth, in a desperate appeal to her, offered himself as her slave if she would only fear him, love him, and obey him. Seeing the look of despair in his eyes, she accepted on two conditions, that he send Toby home and that he not be her slave, but her equal. He'd agreed readily, hugging her and giving her their first kiss. After that first couple of weeks of awkward getting to know each other, they'd settled into a kind of routine and worked with each other, she as the Lady of the Labyrinth representing the wishes of the sentient maze and he as King of the Goblins taking care of the creatures within the Labyrinth.

For three years, they'd fought, kissed, talked, and enjoyed each other's company. On Sarah's eighteenth birthday, Jareth had proposed to her during a romantic evening while dancing. To his bewildered astonishment, she'd accepted and they'd danced around the ballroom like two lovesick puppies. It was later that evening when they were slow dancing, Sarah's head against Jareth's chest and his resting on top of her head that she'd collapsed. She couldn't remember what happened after that, only the other half of her memories.

The alternate reality where she'd defeated Jareth and his Labyrinth, refusing his offer played through her mind. When she'd said those words, those fatal words, "You have no power over me," she'd been transported back to her parent's house. She'd run upstairs to find Toby in his crib, fast asleep. Then she'd gone to her room to find her friends, Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. They'd partied like it was 1999 and other denizens of the Labyrinth had joined in, except him. Jareth hadn't shown up ever again in this alternate reality. In fact, it seemed she'd moved on with her life extraordinarily fast. It wasn't long before she wasn't calling her friends anymore and she was hanging out with her friends from school more. She was close to graduation when the dreams had started and the two realities collided together.

Sarah groggily clutched her head, trying to stop the swirling, tumbling, and twirling of images and memories. She closed her eyes again to see if that would help. "It's time to make your decision, Lady of the Labyrinth Sarah Williams," a low feminine voice said from the end of the bed.

Sarah's eyes sprung open to see a slight girl with a pale spring green complexion and deep forest green hair the curled in soft waves around her face down just past her shoulders. She wore a simple empire waist cream colored dress. "What?" Sarah asked. "Who are you?"

"I am the Labyrinth, my lady, and I said it is time for you to choose."

"Choose? Now?"

She nodded.

Sarah glanced over at her father, his sleeping form told her he'd been there all night. She frowned, she loved her family, and she didn't want to leave them, but she didn't think she could live without Jareth. Why did she have to choose between the two people who loved her most and whom she loved more than anything? She clenched her fists and growled. "I want both!" she yelled at the girl before her.

The girl smiled, "And so it shall be."

Surprised, Sarah's eyes widened as she felt her memories rearrange themselves and she felt herself being transported. When it all stopped, she felt herself lying in a large plush bed, a rather warm and inviting body lying next to her. She turned to see Jareth, asleep, his legs tangled with hers and his arm wrapped securely around her. She nestled into his chest as she examined her new memories. After she'd agreed to Jareth's terms upon reaching the center of the Labyrinth, with her two conditions of returning Toby home and for Jareth to be her equal, Jareth had insisted on her finishing her education. So she'd spent the weekdays going to school and being Sarah Williams and the weekends in the Underground learning her way as the Lady of the Labyrinth. Her father and Karen had taken the news that she'd be spending weekends and summer holidays in a different realm remarkably well. She'd suspected Jareth of some tampering, but he never admitted to anything, and if Sarah was honest with herself, she was a little glad she didn't have to deal with a panicked father and stepmother.

She looked at a more recent memory, that of her graduation. It had only been a few days ago and she'd since spent every day in the Underground preparing for her upcoming nuptials. Her father would be walking her down the isle in approximately one week. Her heart started to beat faster at the thought of spending eternity with the magnificent creature beside her. Just then, Jareth opened his eyes and smiled as he saw his fiancé admiring him. "Good morning, love," he said kissing her forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

**o O o O o O o**

Thank you for reading this story. It just kind of happened one night and was written all under 24 hours, but with over a weeks worth of forethought because I had papers to write for classes before I could start on this. (Thank God for the weekends!) For those reading my story _The Reference_, no worries, I will finish it, but I'm stuck at a roadblock and I'm not sure I'll be getting another chapter out soon, perhaps around Thanksgiving or maybe after December 10th (graduation day).

Anyway, thanks for reading again and I'd highly appreciate reviews. I really love how this one turned out, but then I'm still in the afterglow of just finishing it. I'm sure I'll read it two days from now and find a whole bunch of things I want to change, but will leave alone because I'm too lazy to change them.

Okay, enough rambling. Go review please!


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